#so the options are in order essentially one or the other of the main options

[mariana-oconnor]

Types of AO3 Summary

Option 1 - The Excerpt:

The quickest, the easiest! Find a section of your fic that contains the main premise of said fic and also showcases your writing. Copy paste that into the summary box. BOOM! Done.

Best used for any fic, unless it's so short the excerpt would be the whole fic.

Option 2 - The No Frills:

Just a description of the fic. No need for drama. No need to complicate matters. Keep it simple, keep it safe.

Example: "A short character exploration of Blorbo's thoughts after Daisy leaves."

Best used for short fics, poems and fics where the style/format is more important than the plot. Or fics that tie directly into a scene/episode from canon or another fanfic.

Option 3 - The Hook:

Draw the reader's interest by giving them a set up with no conclusion. Introduce the main character(s), introduce the status quo, describe an inciting incident, leave a question in the reader's mind.

Example: "Blorbo is a barista at a coffee shop, struggling to pay their bills, but after handsome rockstar Obrolb walks into their coffee shop they find that they have to decide whether a chance at love is worth the cost of fame."

Best used for mid to long fic where there's a strong premise and follow through. Especially good for AUs. Can be expanded for more complex plots or used multiple times in one summary for multiple characters or subplots.

Option 4 - The Sitcom One-Liner:

"The one in which [over simplified description of one of the main plotlines]" This is essentially 'boil your plot down to the very simplest statement you can, oversimplify if possible. The more bizarre or unhelpful the better.

Example: "The one in which Blorbo learns to like cake".

Best used for fics with at least a little humour in them.

Option 5 - The Rule of Three:

Three is a magic number. Find three key moments in your fic and just list them. That's it. Often ends with 'not necessarily in that order' if used for comic effect. If it's an AU, establish that quickly (i.e. 'Star NHL player Blorbo…').

Example: "Blorbo makes a friend, falls in love, and almost burns to death, not necessarily in that order."

Best used for anything, really. Three is a magic number. The human brain loves things that come in threes.

Option 6 - The Trope Lure:

Why bother describing the plot? We all know AO3 readers are here for the tropes. Similar to The Sitcom One-Liner just using tropes instead of plot. Often followed by the phrase 'that nobody asked for'.

Example: "The Space western / A/B/O / Mail Order Bride fic that nobody asked for."

Often tacked on to the end of The Hook or The Excerpt as a tl;dr.

Best used for fic that plays its tropes straight with no shame or second guessing.

Option 7 - The Pre-emptive Strike:

(Not recommended) You just wrote this fic, the self doubt is consuming you. You feel the need to apologise profusely for your existence for no apparently reason. You feel cringe, you think the fic is cringe, you want everyone to know that you think the fic is cringe in case they don't like it and judge you for it.

Example: "So I fell in love with this pairing and had to write this. It's weird and terrible. Lol! I suck at summaries! Sorry!"

Best used for no fics ever. I cannot stress this enough.

(Seriously, I am begging you, don't do this. If you're planning to use this option, rethink it and do one of the others. I guarantee you more people will want to read your fic.)

Sometimes added on to any other summary as a strange disclaimer. (srsly. don't.)

Option 8 - The Unapology:

Embrace the mayhem, embrace the deep dark depths of your soul. The opposite of The Pre-emptive Strike. A combination of The No Frills and The Trope Lure that truly gives no fucks.

You have committed crimes and you are proud of them. You know what your USP is and you're going to make sure your target market finds you. Look upon my works, ye readers, and despair!

Example: "There aren't enough tentacle fics in this pairing, so I had to write one myself!"

Best used for fics with controversial/polarising tropes with all relevant details already clearly stated in the tags.

Option 9 - The Interrogation:

What if you wrote a summary entirely in questions? What if your readers had to read the fic to discover the answers? Who knows what will happen if you do this?

Example: "What happens when Blorbo McBlorbo gets his wish and Daisy doesn't make it to the plane on time? What happens when Obrolb finds out? How will this change Daisy and Blorbo's friendship?"

Best used for... I honestly don't know. This style of summary does not vibe with me. Mystery fic maybe? Sorry guys.

Option 10 - The Multipack:

Got a bunch of shorter fics in one work? No way of summarising them all without a wall of text larger than the Great Wall of China? This one is similar to The No Frills in that you're not describing the plots themselves and similar to The Trope Lure in that often broader genres and tropes are mentioned. What links those fics? Are they all in the same fandom? The same pairing? The same challenge? Just slap that right in the summary. A chapter list with 1-2 word trope/pairing summaries can be included or not.

Example: "A collection of Blorbo/Daisy/Obrolb fics based on Tumblr prompts. Chapter 1: Regency AU Chapter 2: Werewolves vs vampires Chapter 3: Ghost!Daisy Chapter 4: Space pirates!"

Best used for (obviously) works that are compilations of fic.

Option ? - The Void:

I said The Excerpt was the quickest and easiest summary to do. I lied, well... I didn't exactly lie. What is quicker and easier than not having a summary at all? After all, that's what the tags are for.

Example:

Best used for... nothing? Write a summary, guys. Please?

[clairdelunelove]

I just know that itadori yuuji would be the guy on the beach that you get a glimpse of and never forget. 

what started out as a summer trip planned by friends turned into more of a self-care day that you all could share. to take a break from the usual, mundane cycle of school and work. just a pause to relax due to the rare occasion you all can clear your schedules to enjoy your youth. to have a little fun. to breathe in some fresh air and soak up some sun. you weren’t expecting a flawless trip; in fact, you kept your expectations pretty low and didn’t stress too much about the logistics. nothing too hectic. thus, when it was a blazingly hot day with not a single cloud scattered across the cerulean sky and the wind was perfect– traveling to the beach was a no-brainer. so after packing a few essentials you all hit the road. the car ride was a jumble of upbeat, carefree music and all the radio’s top tracks. with the car’s windows rolled down, your group of friends zealously croon all the wrong lyrics with pride and erupt in laughter when people from other cars stare a bit too intently. bright, mirthful smiles on all your faces in hopes of making new memories with this trip. just a good time, overall. 

so imagine your surprise when your friends assign you to unpack the beach chairs from the car and drag them over to the designated spot. in their defense, it’s a beautiful spot. the ideal blend of shade and dazzling sunlight since it’s right underneath the beach’s main cove. it overlooks golden sand that’s bordered by the water’s white foam due to the spilling waves that caress the shoreline. not to mention that the water is superbly tepid, the right temperature that has your friends sighing in content. it’s the hangout spot that anyone would treasure for the day. extraordinarily so, that your friends immediately grab a handful of items (towels, bags, etc.) from the car’s trunk and quickly dash to claim it. leaving you to haul the heavier pieces by yourself.

“guys! seriously?” you rhetorically ask, aware that your voice wasn’t going to reach them from how far they were. 

a heavy exhale leaves your lips as you continue to heave the obnoxiously colored chairs across the sand. you suppose that this was probably the best option, though. the beach already had a handful of people scattered along the stretch of land and it was bound to get busier by the second. but the heft of the chairs, coupled with your need to briskly catch up to your friends, proved to be more responsibility than you can manage. it happens abruptly. before your grip on the aluminum handles slip, a heavy hand descends to alleviate the extra weight and you’re face-to-face with the most attractive stranger you’ve ever laid your eyes on. 

“need a hand?” 

and a part of you wishes to blurt that you might need more than just his hand. because he’s stunning– in the way that causes your face to warm as your eyes drag along his physique. his skin is glowy like he’s grazed by sunlight itself and brushed with freckles that you yearn to trace your fingers over. his hair is a blushy, vibrant shade that creates a halo behind him and emphasizes his boyish charm. and his smile, the one that good-naturedly curves along his lips, is blinding as he regards you. he’s clad in a white tank top and swim trunks, although, you’ve never quite seen such prominent dips of muscle despite him being completely covered up.

you stutter out your gratitude, too occupied with furiously bowing your head to notice how his gaze shifts to do an inquisitive once-over. and he already knows he’s in trouble. you’re oh so pretty; big, sparkly eyes and glossy lips. a voice that sounds like someone slowly plucking the strings of a violin. soft skin that gleams. his dream girl. knocks the wind out of his chest and he discreetly clears his throat in order to speak. 

“don’t worry ‘bout it,” he mentions while drawing a finger to bashfully swipe at his nose, “just didn’t wanna see such a pretty girl in distress.” 

and you can already tell he’s sickeningly sweet. not like the type that you usually run into when you’re strolling through the city streets. no, you were certain that he wasn’t from around here. probably stored away in a faraway town that you’d never have the chance to visit. after all, the boys that pursued you were accustomed to low effort and unkept promises. not him, however.

hands raised in alarm, he hastily tries to correct his overly blunt compliment and you’re left giggling at his dismay. 

“the ball, dude!” 

a group of athletic males, you assume they’re the stranger’s friends, holler at him as they point to the volleyball that rolled beside you. must’ve been launched over when you were focused on the attractive stranger. you awkwardly shift your feet. of course, all good things must come to an end. too much heaven is bound to make a person selfish. but this was almost too quick for you to thoroughly enjoy. he remains unmoving despite his friends’ chiding for him to come back so they can resume their game. almost reluctant. his gaze deviates to the ball and then goes back to you. a glimmer in his disheartened eyes. 

you glance over, shyly smiling at his unwillingness to hurry back to them, “I think they’re waiting for you.” 

and that breaks him out of stupor. he bites his lower lip, seemingly debating, and promptly utters another apology. quips about how impatient they are over a silly game of beach volleyball. muttering about how they had all day to play. the words spill out of his mouth. reasoning to explain the short-lived encounter. and you can’t help but swoon because he has such a boyish charm to him. 

yet, before you can take your leave, the blushy-haired male blurts, “can you give me a second?” 

“please.” 

recognizes that he’s got you hook, line, and sinker when you press your lips together with an appeased nod. you’re fighting off the beginnings of a smile as he visibly perks up at your response. like a dog finally rewarded with a treat after a session of training. he scoops up the volleyball, eagerly tosses it back to his friends, and mentions for them to not wait up for him. doesn’t bat an eye to how the ball whizzes past them and into the sea. never thought twice about his appalling strength.

and he’s giddy now. all dizzying grins and flighty movements. it's almost too adorable. accidentally brushes against your hand as he’s walking and hastily pulls away like he’d been burned. visibly gulps when you teasingly smooth your hand over his shoulder. and his eyes flutter in desperation when your fingers gently card along his soft hair. though, his eyes never leave yours. they're the perfect shade of liquid honey. makes you reminisce of apricot trees and apple pies. set in determination to etch you into his mind. you'll be in his memory forever. and it’s mushy and gentle. you never want this day to end. 

yuuji ends up carrying all your beach chairs in one strong hand. wasn’t too inclined to accept your compliments for his strength but he does notice how your gaze often drifts to the apparent veins on his forearms. he never comments on it, however. just causes him to puff up in pride when he offers you his other arm and you hold onto it for stability (or so he believes). such a pretty sight as you waltz in the sand and throw him an overjoyed smile when you pick up sparkling seashells. you’re completely satiated. an unexpected surprise during the lax, summery trip. a drop of saccharine that sent his dull world plummeting into the deepest depths of the very sea that you pranced along. and if your friends notice the rather recent and charming addition to their group, one that hangs upon your every word– they don’t mention it.

at least now they have someone to carry all their heavy stuff for them. 

[majycka]

Megumi stans....we won, I guess? maybe just for now..

JJK 266 THOUGHTS AND SPOILERS AHEAD!

Aight megumi enjoyers, at least one of us has been in the trenches when Megumi was getting SHOVELED PILES OF SHIT ON for losing his will to live when he's a traumatized 15 years old boy having a valid reaction to a death of a loved one (aka who may I repeat, HEAVILY REITERATED in the manga is someone whose his entire desire to live hinges on). As of from the currents chap, I'm considering Yuuji's acknowledgement/understanding to Megumi's actions a W for us or idk maybe that's just me because he gives Megumi the empathy and understanding he needs in his crazy ass suicidal life, and it raises the question of whether this is gonna fully push Megumi for his comeback moment?

More yapping under the cut

In order to explain why the magnitude of this chapter is such an important development for Megumi, his trauma needs to be discuss first and, there's four people we need to go through to reflect his stages of life. Toji, Tsumiki, Gojo, aaaannd Yuuji! :D

TOJI, the dad who left for milk.

Although we barely see any interaction with these two (only one fight scene from them), Toji no doubt kickstarted the trauma of Megumi the moment he decided to left for milk and never return again. He's traumatized by the Zenin's which explains why he acted out in that way and abandoned his child. All he's life he's treated as the outsider for being the odd one out. He lashed out from it as he got stronger, calmed down when meet Meg's mom who then died, and went back to lashing out again, forgetting that he has a tiny son waiting for him at home. Big L for Toji.

I know that Gege reiterated in his interview that he wants to craft a story where there's no right and wrong people, but I'm gonna proceed to be harsher towards Toji here because he's the ADULT situation. Yes, a traumatized adult who's fucked up and not perfect, but I still hold him accountable in perpetuating Megumi's trauma because Toji proceeded to repeat the cycle of trauma that moment he decided to leave, thinking that turning over Megumi to the Zenin is the best option cuz he got The Ten Shadows Technique. From Toji's perspective, it seemed the better option because he was raised knowing his no cursed energy made him an outcast in his family. It's drilled to him that cursed technique was everything for Zenins, so of course, he thought that his son with a valued technique will make the Zenins, olympic gold medal holder of abuse, treat him better. But, heck no! Just look what happened to that Naoya, who despite being raised differently as Toji or Maki and Mai, ended up as a piece of shit. In the end though, I gotta give him the bareeeessst minimum because he kinda pushed Gojo to interfere with Megumi being sold off to the Zenins(which has another set of problems discussed for the later part of discussion).

I try to stay true in including Gege's intention in writing here, and also other nuanced perspective cuz that's the type of series JJK is that yes, Toji DID care for his son in the barest minimum and in his most emotionally stunted way.

However, the damage is done, and Megumi is left with no prime adult caretaker to protect/guide him with only an older sis to have any resemblance of it .

2. TSUMIKI, the manic pixie dream girl sister.

To define the term (as I've stolen from Google) , manic pixie dream girl (MPDG) means "a type of female character depicted as vivacious and appealingly quirky, whose main purpose within the narrative is to inspire a greater appreciation for life in a male protagonist." They are often associated as love interest in movies, BUT I AM NO WAY SHAPE IN FORM ENDORSING MEGUMI SEES HER THAT WAY. Instead, I am using MPDG as a loose term to describe Tsumiki because like most MPDG, we barely know ANYTHING about her actually and we only saw her through the eyes of Megumi which is being pretty and dead.

Not essentially dead and not essentially just pretty because Megumi described her to be the model of a kind person and someone that Megumi wishes to protect, aka his greater purpose of life, which is yah, great, but we are stuck with this perception of Tsumiki. We don't know her, and I think the closest thing we got an unbiased perception of her is when she chucked a cartoon of milk to Megumi (she will call out his BS). This connects back with Megumi's trauma because who else are you gonna hinge your will to live on when the prime adults in your life failed you? He sees her in a brighter light in order to survive. A way of coping mechanism even.

AND YET, despite all his talk appreciating her kind traits and killing people in the culling game to get back to her, you would be surprised that instead of apologizing to her that he was all emo about, he was a dick to her when they reunited. 💀💀

And in fact, the narrative punishes him for this flaw.

To the point that when Sukuna took over his body, he "killed: Tsumiki in his hands which didn't just left Megumi the guilt and shame of being a dick to his sister before she dies but also the impression that Megumi was the one who "killed her." This makes Megumi an active participant to his own tragedy, and it serves a big slap on his face that he's also at fault here.

3. GOJO, the traumatized bro who tried his best.

This is definitely the raging hot debate of the fandom which is their dynamic, and my take breaks this perception of the uwufied Gojo a lot of the fandom seems to like. Yes, I do see Gojo as another perpetrator to Megumi’s trauma, another adult that failed him but not in such of a black and white way thinking of Gojo’s the wholly bad guy here. Believe it or not, he’s still a part of the chain of generational trauma, being a "chain" as in he's a victim AND perpetrator of the system. I called him the traumatized bro who tried his best here because as much as Gojo knows how cruel the jujutsu system is for the kids, he still unintentionally passes over the core mindset of such cruel system to Megumi since Gojo still did grew up in this system normalized in his eyes.

"Jujutsu Sorcerer is an individual sport."

I say "unintentionally passes" because no, Gojo doesn't have the same intention as Zenins/majority of the system who drills "strength is everything" in the most fucked up way possible. Yes, he enjoys Megumi’s company and treats him nicely. Yes, he sticks his neck out for him. Yes, he wants them to be strong so they can change the system. But this isn't about Gojo. It's about Megumi who still undeniably suffered from the accumulation of the few adults in his life failing him which includes Gojo. Gojo offers protection to Megumi. KEYWORD: Offers. It’s in exchange for Megumi working under Gojo as a jujutsu sorcerer. Now, for smol Megumi here, who truly going through the horror show of abandonment from his dad, agrees to it because apparently, according to Gojo, it’s the only way to protect his sister.

"I'll take care of things! But you're gonna have to work extra hard. I'm countin' on ya."

Annnd thus the cycle repeats! Although it wasn’t as bad as Zenin’s abusive environment Toji was raised, Megumi is still pushed in the same cutthroat environment of the jjk world that Gojo believed he can survive just because Megs has a valued powerful technique if only he himself fullfills his potential, like Gojo’s Six Eyes. BUT Gojo, who delights in his power, forgets a crucial part that…..Megumi isn’t like him!

Check out what Megumi has to say. (aka bud doesn't want any of that sorcerers shit and just wants a domestic life)

So the thing is, was Megumi ever asked his input in choosing to be a jujutsu sorcerer? Well, yah….and all it circles back to just protecting his sister and people like her. There’s a set of problems that comes with this mindset though that Gojo was valid to point out and that is Megumi doesn’t think about himself enough. “It’s ok to be selfish!” Gojo said in the context of being a stronger sorcerer.

But at the same time, he also gave Megumi the idea to that if he doesn’t work as sorcerer, then he won’t be able to protect his sister when he was a mere 6-7y/o boy.

You know that circulating meme of Megumi pulling Mahogora for minor inconvenience? Well, guess what that tells his suicidal tendencies in protecting anyone but himself. Kid got no sense of self-preservation because his self esteemed has completely tanked itself due to his abandonment issues, and now that he’s expressing how it emotionally and physically paralyzes him, he has every valid reason to do so.

Why, yes, Gojo was 19/20 at the time he first met Megs, still a kid, doesn't know shit, and has unaddressed issues being treated as The Strongest Weapon(here’s a dedicated gojo-centric meta I wrote previously about Gojo and his issues cuz he's one complicated fool). I describe this whole situation as an unaware traumatized kid taking in another traumatized kid which is not a fun mix to have, and I understand that Gojo ain’t exactly prepared for that kind of job.

HOWEVER, I’m way harsher to point out Gojo’s failure as an adult in Megumi in the later part of the series because at this point, Gojo's a grown adult, he waxes poetry in being responsible for the next gen , and we get to see his priorities throughout the series especially with the Sukuna’s fight, like seriously he had one legitimate fun fighting someone on par with him.

Gojo DELIGHTS in power no doubt, he chooses kids with most potential, he gets excited finding those kids, and this is the type of the closest dependable adult Megumi has in his life.

Yes, financially supported but Gojo isn't around much when he's working and on demand sorcerer almost 24/7. That's why growing up sure do sucked ass for Megumi especially when no one’s really there to guide and to keep an eye on your development AS A PERSON AND NOT JUST A SORCERER which the latter part is what unfortunately Gojo’s more eager to do.

4. YUUJI, the guy who just wants Megumi to know he matters to him as a person.

Yuuji and Megumi were definitely the highlight of this chapter because in the bleak world of JJK where everyone seemed to be succumbing to the repeated fuck ups of the previous gen (like that Yuta-Gojo situation), this chapter actually offers that THERE IS HOPE that the new gen can do better like what Yuuji just did that the adults in Megumi's life are too emotionally stunted to do. Yuuji take the time to listen to Megumi's emotional thoughts, what he feels as a person, and not just listen, but to understand and empathize. It even took lots of attempts for Yuuji to make Megumi open up.

He responds to Megumi's vulnerability with care and love, and Yuuji understands the pain Megumi is going through from losing his sister. With someone in pain like that, Yuuji knows he can't just go around saying "just live" to someone who's practically suicidal.

The treat of this all is when this scene comes next. Yuuji also shows his vulnerability and expresses that Megumi matters to him!

"It's lonely without you..Fushiguro."

This scene clearly parallels Gojo and Megumi's first meeting, so I'm gonna try to throw my two cents here and explain why Gege choose this direction. Remember what I said about Yuuji giving us the hope of the new gen escaping from the shackles of generational trauma? Well, I think this parallel is a way in saying that what Megumi needed when he was so young was someone to see him and his pain who's just a kid abandoned and forced to fend for themselves because the prime adults decided to to dip out. This is Megumi we are talking about here who's unaddressed issues stays hidden beneath all the pressure of him being The Ten Shadows Technique. He's valued for his technique. That's why Gojo showed up to meet him in the first place. That's also what the jujutsu system looked after for their child soldiers. Yuuji tries to break this chain of trauma their mentor unknowingly repeats. He'll show up for Megumi again and again because he's his dear friend even if Megumi's being difficult to be pulled out of Sukuna. And the beautiful thing is Yuuji didn't had some grand inspiring speech or grand offer to convince Megumi, he wasn't even sure Megumi will be up for it. Yuuji simply want to say that he matters to him. That understands him. That he's important to him so much he'll be sad when he dies, and it mattered.

"This is...Fushiguro Megumi's...!!"

And now that Megumi is showing signs in taking his body back, it's now his turn to save himself. Yuuji did his part, and for someone whose future has been controlled by everyone but himself, this time Megumi gets to decide what comes next.

[birdsofthefictionalworld]

The Canary Problem

The Untamed(陈情令/Chén Qíng Lìng)(2019) is a mainland chinese xianxia drama, based on the popular danmei novel 魔道祖师/Mó Dào Zǔ Shī. The series isn't exactly peak birdwatching, but it has a select few appearances of Weird Birds.

The main problem I will be tackling here is the presence of a small, but incredibly confusing, problem: a wild Canary.

In the fourth episode of this show, a character—Nie Huaisang— smuggles a songbird into class.

He claims to have captured the bird from the wild on his journey from his home(Qinghe) to the current location(Gusu). This problem is that the bird he has in this scene is a domestic variant of the wild Atlantic Canary, Serinus canaria. This species is native to the Canary Islands, off the coast of northern Africa, and to make things worse, this particular individual has a color pattern known as Red Factor, which was created from humans intentionally hybridizing domesticated Atlantic Canaries Serinus canaria forma domestica with south american Venezuelan Red Siskin (Spinus cucullatus). This is essentially like he was wandering around in the woods of northeastern china and found a purebred Chihuahua.

But the actual species of the bird is not necessarily the only important factor in fiction. The species the birdy actor is intended to be portraying also comes into play. While the official english subtitles do refer to the bird as a canary, the words actually used in chinese are 金雀/jīn què, directly translating to gold bird. This name is colliqual, not scientific, and can therefore be referring to multiple different bird species of similar appearance. I am led to believe that the species intended to be portrayed here is, in fact, the Eurasian Siskin, Spinus spinus. If this is the case, a canary is a fine choice for casting, as wild type Domestic Canaries and Eurasian Siskins are quite similar in appearance.

Additionally, a Eurasian Siskin is a very realistic species to be found in between the real life northeastern china.

Unfortunately, by casting a clearly domestic red-factor, the similarity is lost.

I do believe Eurasian Siskins remain an ideal candidate for the intended species, if not aesthetically, then thematically. For you see, while Eurasian Siskins are sometimes referred to as jīn què, they are more commonly known as 黄雀/huáng què.

The word huáng què is used in the classic chinese idiom “螳螂捕蝉黄雀在后了/tángláng bǔ chán huáng què zài hòule” which is often translated to “the mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole is behind”. This alludes to an individual that is so focused following their goal, they fall prey to others. In the context of this story, and the placement of the canary there appear to be two major options.

Warning: Its major plot spoiler time

In the early series, Nie Huaisang is characterized as an unserious and rather careless young man, but at the end of the it is revealed that he has spent many years(during a plot-relevant time-skip), engineering the downfall of one of the series’ major antagonists, Jin Guangyao.

The most straightforward option, is that Nie Huaisang is holding the bird as a representation of himself, being the “huáng què” to Jin Guangyao’s “mantis” in the eventual reveal, but i think there could be more to it.

Huaisang refers to the bird specifically as a jīn què, not a huáng què. While this may be intended to distance the bird from the idiom, in order to make the foreshadowing more obscure, it does not seem coincidental that the jīn in jīn què uses the same character as Jin Guangyao(and the entire Jin sect, but regardless-).

So i propose that the bird is more specific foreshadowing, meant to represent Jin Guangyao, the huáng què who, while stalking a prey intent on another, did not look behind himself for the greater predator, a man.

Nie Huaisang, specifically was said to have stalked the bird for several days before capture, a far cry from the rest of his characterization at this point in the series. It could be simply intended as a demonstration of his tenacity when given the appropriate motivation, but it becomes a far more pointed commentary if it was intended to mirror his quiet hunt for Jin Guangyao in the later series.

A lot of symbolism for a bird with 3 seconds of screen-time, or not, it could be simply flawed bird casting. Please don’t get me started on the chicken.

Thank you for reading!! If anyone has any good medias for me to look at birds in, send me an ask! I would love to hear about them!

I will be posting all my bird metas under the tag #meta as well as #bfw(my general works tag).

[dravenscroft]

So I make a loooot of shitposts and jokes (mainly because my actual career is writing dark and serious novels and therefore I come to Tumblr to get away from that) but I FINALLY wanted to write a post that sums up my thoughts regarding the Hickey/Tozer dynamic because it fascinates me so much.

I'm putting it under a read more because I know I'm going to ramble.

Okay so first of all, as much as I may like to make jokes about the sex being so good it drove a guy to mutiny, I don't actually believe there was any sexual intimacy between Hickey and Tozer at all. This is mostly because I think post Carnival NOBODY was getting laid, everyone was far too sick and weak and tired for that - do I think in different circumstances it could have happened between them? Possibly, yeah. I definitely see the dynamic as romantic, but in a weird, unspoken, 'whatever the hell they have going on is also way more complicated than that' way.

The main thoughts I have about how and why Tozer ends up locked into in the Worst Situationship Of All Time are mainly due to three factors:

Heather's death and the breakdown of command.

The obvious Oh Shit moment of watching the Tuunbaq devour Collins' soul.

Physical touch.

The first one is the primer, as it were. It sets Tozer up as angry, desperate, and willing to mutiny. It's already become clear by Carnival that command is breaking down, they don't know what to do, and what a soldier needs more than anything is a CLEAR, DECISIVE CHAIN OF COMMAND. Without that, Tozer - who already has some Opinions about the way the marines are being put at additional risk (unionise, king) - has no one to keep him on a leash, for want of a better word. He's a dog trained to kill that suddenly doesn't have a master. He cannot be in command himself. He needs someone above him; he's not a leader.

This builds and builds, but then Heather's death - the loss of any vestige of something that would keep him loyal, since evidently Heather's care would continue under ordinary command - at the hands, essentially, of the very command he's started to doubt...well, that's it. Gun primed.

The discovery of Fairholme's group shatters any remaining hope he may have had, Crozier's reluctance to tell the men only further compounding the 'command is failing' mentality Tozer already has in spades. And there you go - the trigger is pulled.

BANG. Mutiny.

The second major factor comes after he's thrown in his lot with Hickey in a way he can't go back on. He sees Collins' soul sucked from his body by Tuunbaq before his very eyes. Suddenly, everything he thought he knew has been tipped on its head and an existential crisis he definitely didn't expect or need is thrust upon him, but now any decision he might have made to stay with Crozier and co based on this revelation is no longer open to him. The gun is still smoking, there's no way of putting the musket ball back, and now Hickey is his only option.

But maybe that isn't so bad? Because Hickey is providing something command didn't. He seems in control. He seems to know what he's about, what he's doing, and what to do next. He gives clear concise orders. He's taken up the leash command dropped, and Tozer has a master again. He feels like a marine again, like some of his identity has returned to him in a weird, perverse way (and we know Tozer is incredibly proud of being a Royal Marine from his earlier conversations)(not to mention Crozier's remark to Fitzjames about not asking the men to leave bits of themselves behind straight away when leaving the ships; Tozer has already lost bits of himself, when Heather died, and he lost faith in command).

Tozer is NOT willing to do a second mutiny because that would put HIM in charge, stripping him of that identity all over again, and he cannot handle that.

And finally, physical touch - physical touch is one of the things that keeps him chained to Hickey (quite literally by the end). It's perhaps not nearly as much of a factor as the other two, or perhaps an enormous factor, but definitely there. Throughout the earlier episodes we see that Tozer is a pretty tactile guy. Playfully wrestling at the birthday party. Caring for Heather, squeezing his hand to try and get signs of life. This is a man who isn't afraid to touch other men. When Hickey holds his face in That scene, he doesn't appear surprised - a little spooked by the way he leans in suddenly, and Hickey's intensity, but not shocked. Not like it's the first time Hickey has ever touched him. I generally imagine there's a lot of physical intimacy Hickey offers him during the scenes we don't see, because Hickey IS good at recognising things in people most of the time, and I can see him honing in on that need for touch immediately.

I imagine him touching him a lot, sleeping unusually close to him, soothing him, everything to make Tozer feel safe and secure and remind him WHO is meeting those specific needs. He's providing certainty, command, and comfort, three things Tozer desperately needs.

If there WAS any sexual intimacy between the two, I believe it would build off this even further - confuse Tozer about his feelings, make him feel uniquely bonded to Hickey in a way he can't easily undo. Especially as a Royal Marine, essentially a symbol of the warlike 'noble' Empire, with all the corresponding Victorian hangups and ideals, which would no doubt feel incredibly threatened by any attraction to Hickey. Hickey, who, as we know, WANTS to erase this sense of Empire as identity, not because he understands the evils of Empire but because he wants to replace it with his own where he is at the top.

Hickey both offers Tozer his identity back while at the same time trying to reshape it to fit his own empire. And for Tozer that's confusing and conflicting - but it's better than what he had before. Because Tozer, too, cannot see the world through any lens but that of Empire and hierarchy and command - that's the fatal flaw of all these men.

By the end, it seems he's starting to see what a horrible mistake he made - but by then it's far, far too late.

And a dog NEEDS a master.

Tldr; I think Tozer's bond with Hickey stems from both very human needs such as touch and closeness and certainty, but also from a very thematic need to have a place and easily understood identity within the structure of Empire. And there's almost no real way for those two different sorts of needs to coexist without disaster.

(One day I'll go into how I think Hickey gets more from this relationship than a mere henchman, but this isn't the post for it! This is about Solomon)

[featherstorm2004]

Nana Shimura's guilt

Ok, so I'm sure plenty of people have noticed that in the latest chapter Nana has been insisting that Izuku must kill Shigaraki and that he's a wall that Izuku doesn't have to climb over. And I want to discus that as whilst I certainly don't agree with her, I find her reasons for such a perspective to be fascinating.

But let's begin with a trend I've noticed in any chapters where Nana and the vestiges talk about Shigaraki, and that's the fact that despite originally agreeing to go along with Izuku's wish to save Shigaraki they constantly refer to him as an 'it' or a 'thing' more often describing him as something less then human. And whilst it may not be surprising for the others to refer to him this way, it is incredibly disturbing that Nana his own grandmother seems the most determined to remove Shigaraki's humanity.

In fact it appears to be a theme that anyone who had a personal stake in how Shigaraki came to be are the one's most determined to ignore any sign of personhood inside him. This can be seen with Grand Torino, who despite having come to the realisation that his and Nana's decision was a mistake, seems to double down and tries to convince Izuku that killing Tomura is the better option; hell, literally the moment Shigaraki's identity is reviled he is the one to convince All Might that he isn't worth saving and that no matter his bloodline he's still a villain.

And he says this with full confidence despite the fact All For One outright told them both that he deliberately groomed Shigaraki to hate All Might and only chose him to mess with his enemy.

Even All Might chose to give up on Shigaraki very quickly and hasn't even thought about him since he found out, which is honestly really sad because of all people he should have been the one who cared the most, especially since he knows one of the only reasons All For One chose to mess with Shigaraki was to hurt him.

Which brings me back to Nanna and why she is acting the way she is and honestly, it's most likely due to a number of reasons and guilt is likely the most prominent one. After all it was her choices which led to Kotaro becoming traumatised and despising hero's, and it was because she was a wielder of One For All that her family/Tenko was targeted. Now I'm not saying it's Nana's fault Kotaro became an abuser, after all he was a grown man who was more than responsible for the way he handled his trauma however, that doesn't erase the fact that she was the root of his hatred which he passed down onto his son.

Not to mention she knows that the main reason Tenko was targeted was for revenge against her for defying All For One, so not only dose she have to deal with the fact that her son abused his child to near insanity but also her mortal enemy, who killed her, her master and tried to kill her student also groomed her grandchild to hate her, hero's and to become his next vessel.

That a lot of guilt for anyone to be burdened with and whilst it isn't directly her fault, the birth of Shigaraki is a result of the legacy she left behind.

And she obviously can't cope with that because if she did, it would basically invalidate every sacrifice she made for the sake of protecting One For All, so what dose she do? Well she makes a very human mistake and choses to ignore it. After all if Shigaraki is just a monster, a creature beyond human understanding then she doesn't have to face the guilt, "it was out of my hands, what could I have done?" "there's no point in dwelling on what could have been".

Ironically it's the same response All For One had regarding his own humanity. Essentially she's taking the responsibility out of her hands in order to protect herself because if she dose acknowledge it, it would essentially be an ego death for her and well humans are naturally programmed to protect ourselves at all costs. It's not nice but it's the truth, which honestly makes someone like Izuku stand out more.

Izuku has no reason to sympathies with Shigaraki, he has no idea what he's gone through or the history behind his creation but despite that he is the only person on the hero's side who has NEVER ignored him. Hell, even back in the mall scene where Shigaraki practically had him a gun point he still took the time to listen to him and give him a proper answer to his question and clearly what Shigaraki said meant something to him as he ask's All Might about it later.

It's clear that ever since these two have met that for some reason, whether it be the legacies they both carry or the fact that Izuku is just an innately empathetic person, these two have shared a connection. It's like Izuku and Shigaraki said, it's almost like fate has brought them together and we'll just have to see however that played out.

However, it's abundantly clear that whatever might happen between the two of them for Shigaraki to be truly be saved Nana and by extension all others who have kindly rejected Shigaraki will have to eventually accept that he is in fact human. They cannot keep pushing things under the rug because Izuku won't let them.

[posttexasstressdisorder]

The GOP’s 43-year tax-cuts-for-billionaires-while-we-ignore-the-needs-of-the-country grift has an analogy in condos and homes across America that might help voters understand how it works and how they’ve gotten away with it.

Fully 84 percent of all homes and apartments built and sold in 2022 came with a homeowner’s association (HOA), and an estimated 27 percent of all homeowners nationwide currently live in a property controlled by an HOA.

And many are very unhappy about the experience.

According to a survey by Rocket Mortgage, only 47 percent of HOA residents think their HOA has made their community better, only two-thirds (64%) believe their HOA “honestly handles its finances,” and one in ten people nationwide who have an HOA cite the HOA itself as their main reason for moving.

How and why is this?

Louise and I have lived in five communities with HOAs in two different states. Three (including where we now live) were well managed, kept up the community, and set aside money from the dues every month for the inevitable future maintenance. I was on the board of one of them. The other two ran, essentially, a shell game or reverse Ponzi scheme, which led us to eventually quit those communities and move.

READ: Deep-red 'Republican stronghold' thought to be 'easy win for Trump' is now a swing state

I remember attending a board meeting in one of those “shell game” HOA communities we’d lived in. There were multiple common-area maintenance issues needing attention, but a group who called themselves “low-tax conservatives” had run the board for over a twenty years.

There was almost nothing in reserves, so maintenance had been continuously postponed until things hit a crisis level. Then they’d hit us all with a series of “special one-time assessments” ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars to pay for the upkeep. They refused to raise the monthly HOA fee, referring to it as a tax, because, they said, they were “low-tax conservatives”; in fact, they were just cheapskates.

That HOA board had been, in the past and the present, stealing from future homeowners.

They did it so they could enjoy the community during the first 30 or so years — when maintenance costs were minimal — without setting aside money for the future, when things would rot or wear out and need replacement or upgrade.

For the first three decades, they were able to coast with $200/month in dues and no assessments; by the time we arrived when the units were pushing 35 years old, though, the assessments were hitting $3000 to $9000 a year, and, when the buildings’ roofs need repair (soon) it’ll be twice that amount or more.

Fortunately, once we saw the handwriting on that particular wall we were able to sell our condo and move to a well-run community. Americans, though, don’t have that option: Republicans have been running this same shell game or reverse Ponzi scheme against all of us (except the very rich) across the entire country ever since Reagan successfully pitched trickle-down economics to the nation in 1981.

If you’ve ever lived in one of these shell game HOA’s, you now perfectly understand Reaganomics and why it seems that America has deteriorated so badly over the past 40 years.

You could call it the disaster of pothole economics: all across America, roads, bridges, water systems, schools, and other vital public infrastructure have been underfunded and neglected ever since Reagan popularized the idea of “austerity” among Republicans.

In order to pay for the second most massive tax cut for the morbidly rich in history (Reagan cut the top tax bracket from 74% down to 25%), his administration cut spending on education, housing, roads and bridges, and pretty much every other aspect of America’s infrastructure. George W. Bush did the same thing, and Donald Trump tripled down on the scheme.

The result was a $51 trillion transfer of wealth — over a mere forty-three years — from the homes, retirement accounts, and savings of average working families into the money bins of the extremely wealthy. Thirty-four trillion of that transfer show up as our national debt, which was a mere $800 billion ($0.8 trillion) when Reagan first came into office and started this scam.

President Joe Biden and his Vice President, Kamala Harris, ran the first administration of either party to significantly repudiate Reagan’s neoliberalism by injecting trillions into rebuilding our nation (over 35,000 projects) while raising taxes on rich people and corporations to pay for it.

The result was immediately visible, just like in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: we now have the best economy on planet Earth with unemployment lower than any time since the 1960s (and lower than any time in history for women, Blacks, and Hispanics). Inflation has been at or below 0% for the past two months and is annually running around 3% (Reagan never got inflation below 4.1% in his entire 8 years); all across America we’re putting our rural areas, towns, and cities back together.

For the past forty years, Republicans and their administrations have focused almost entirely on taking cash away from working class people and handing it off to the billionaires who own and finance their party. At the top of the list of ways they did this was a series of five tax cuts for the morbidly rich and big corporations adding up to over $30 trillion since 1981.

But they’ve also been cutting spending to compensate for their tax breaks for the billionaire class: They blocked extending the child tax credit this year, throwing millions of American children back into poverty. They’ve fought lifting the cap on Social Security taxes so people making over $168,600 will begin paying on all of their income (millionaires and billionaires currently pay only a tiny fraction of the percentage to support Social Security that the rest of us do).

Fully 100% of congressional Republicans voted against Biden’s Build Back Better program that’s now putting America back together and his American Rescue Plan that lifted millions out of poverty and put millions more back to work. They successfully blocked the Paycheck Fairness Act that would have penalized employers for wage discrimination based on gender; they’ve refused to expand Medicaid in almost a dozen Red states; they even filibustered an attempt to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10.

For the past forty-plus years, Republicans — just like these dysfunctional HOAs — have been stealing from America’s future; our infrastructure deficit alone is several trillion dollars, meaning Americans will be paying more in taxes to make up for all those decades of neglect.

Democrats want those tax increases to hit people earning over $400,000 a year; Republican tax proposals, on the other hand, mostly focus on increasing income taxes and fees on working class people while continuing or even expanding tax breaks for the very wealthy.

One of the “low tax” HOAs we used to live in, instead of raising their monthly fee or instituting an assessment, recently negotiated a million-dollar-plus 20-year loan with people’s properties as the collateral to fund painting and repairing serious rot on the buildings.

This should have been paid for with an increase in HOA fees twenty years ago, anticipating the future maintenance and upkeep needs.

But instead they kept the fee low, never built up a reserve, and are now borrowing from the bank. In other words, they’re continuing the all-too-common HOA board scam of requiring future generations to pay for current repairs, just like the GOP budget proposals we’ll see when they return from summer vacation in September will require future generations to pay for their past tax cuts.

It’s the equivalent of Reagan, Bush, and Trump jacking up the national debt to keep things glued together, forcing future generations to pay it off when the bill comes due, while their wealthy corporate funders rob us blind.

Homeowners across America are waking up to these toxic HOA boards, as social media sites for HOA members are forming and local homeowner uprisings are happening against boards, either replacing the board members or, in some cases, even suing them. Some states are even starting to require they build up reserves for future maintenance.

Hopefully, Americans will realize how successfully Republicans have inflicted this very same scam on voters and working class people over the past forty-plus years and vote the bums out this fall.

ALSO READ: Mike Johnson's now-deleted Trump social media post sparks controversy

[talaricula]

I'm seeing lots of speculation in the wake of the unwanted guest about whether absorbing Loveday's soul is what made Cytherea snap and sure, I see the theory, but personally as a cancer survivor I have never ever questioned why Cytherea snapped

Cancer is an existentially terrifying, often debilitatingly painful and/or exhausting illness, that, if not cured, takes over your body bit by bit, gets into the highly essential bits which increases the suffering and/or fundamentally changes you as a person, makes you extremely vulnerable and dependent on others, and almost inevitably kills you unless you get it when you're old enough and die of old age first instead. Its treatment is often just as painful and exhausting as the illness, or even more so, and doesn't always work. When you have cancer, there are two ways out: being cured (preferable) or, when that is not an option, deciding for yourself when you have reached the point where the suffering is so bad and the outlook so non existent that you would rather die now rather than later after even more and worse suffering.

And John took both of those options away from Cytherea and from her entire line of descendants. When he had the option to cure them all all along. Idk about y'all but the revelation in Nona that John could cure cancer was the number one earth shattering realisation for me. He did this to her, and to the entire Seventh House, on purpose.

This is the first giant betrayal to me. For generation after generation, for TEN THOUSAND YEARS, this man let the heirs of the Seventh House be sick for functionally their entire lives, likely starting in childhood, go through an incalculable amount of painful and exhausting experimental treatments bc he didn't even bring modern medicine into his New Order, and die in their twenties or thirties at best, when he could have STOPPED THIS ALL ALONG with little more effort than snapping his fingers.

Second big betrayal is towards Cytherea herself, but basically the same point : he could have cured her at any time. Before she became Lyctor, possibly, since we're not sure how static Lyctor bodies are, but Mercy's powers, Harrow's lobotomy and Ianthe's arm suggest that it would have been an option afterwards too. And he didn't. He let her have cancer for TEN THOUSAND years without curing her. And he calls himself her friend. Absolutely fuck that bastard.

Third big betrayal is the same betrayal that he inflicts on all the other Lyctors, but imo worse bc of Cytherea's illness. It seems from the books that Lyctors are, if obv not functionally immortal, at least Very Difficult to kill. Consequently, John demands Cytherea's loyalty not only in the form of killing the person she loves the most in the world, but in the very same act, in the form of cutting off the One escape route she has left out of the suffering he's purposefully keeping her in. In short, he takes the one person away from her who she perhaps doesn't resent depending on and, in the same act, makes it A Lot more difficult for her to choose euthanasia. (There's meta in this about the deeply realistic and also Terrifying ableism of John "admits openly that he'll pay any price so the people he loves can't leave him" making his sick friend dependent on him by keeping her sick, taking away her (arguable) main caretaker and cutting her off from the option of leaving him by dying.)

And at the same time that the other Lyctors realise John's betrayal re: their cavaliers, Cytherea potentially realises ALL OF THIS. TEN THOUSAND years of suffering, of seeing her House suffer, on top of losing the person she cares about the most, and ALL OF IT was avoidable, and not just avoidable but EASY TO AVOID? Is it any wonder she went on a rampage to bring down John and everything he cared about and had worked towards, and that she didn't care about dying at the end (or, perhaps, was even counting on that outcome)? I had cancer (as an aware adult) for a year in the best imaginable circumstances and am still fucked up about almost a decade later. After TEN THOUSAND YEARS and learning there had been another option all along, I'd have done WAY WORSE than Cytherea. I really don't think she needed to absorb anyone's soul to get there. It is, in my opinion, a deeply understandable and realistic reaction.

[fereldanwench]

I didn't want to completely sit out a year-in-review, but for reasons I'll explain at the end of this post and under a cut, doing the traditional pick-one-pic-from-each-month approach just wasn't going to work for me. So instead, here are 20 of my favorite shots (in no particular order) of Valerie from 2023!

(I'll share solo Goro shots and shippy/story shots in two other posts before the year ends.)

Some thoughts about this year (cw for anxiety and depression mentions):

So yeah. I actually hadn't planned on joining in on the virtual photography year-in-review fun in part because... Well, frankly, I wasn't sure if it would actually be fun for me.

Although I do have pictures for every month, the first third, maybe even half, of the year was a struggle on almost every conceivable level. A lot of it was shit that carried over from the end of 2022, which was also an incredibly difficult year for me. I don't really want to delve too deeply into why--Some of it was personal, some of it was professional, some of it was fandom, and if you know, you know.

The main obstacle I had here is that looking at a lot of the shots I took from about January to May (give or take a few weeks on either end) honestly reminded me of Bad Times™️. I've worked really hard to pull myself out of that depression/anxiety cycle and return to a healthier approach to fandom and online socialization in general, but I just didn't want to spend a lot of time in that mental space. There are a few shots from those months that made it to my favorites, and I hope one day I can look back on that stuff and just feel the good from it again. Alas, that day is still not here.

But I am happy to report that the other reason I wanted to approach the review differently is a lot more positive! It's also two-fold: 1) I spent the earlier part of this year exploring more of a technical side of virtual photography and 2) I was really prolific the last third or so of this year so trying to narrow faves from about August until now was just not possible.

One of the few good things about the end of 2022 was being able to upgrade my graphics card, which meant I then had a rig that could support ray-tracing and hot sampling. As a result, I started putting a lot more focus on lighting and getting acquainted with new tools. I also was trying to work with the new AMM posing system, which is very convenient in some ways (100s of poses without reloading the game!) and a complete pain in the ass in others (can't move characters without their poses breaking!). Custom photomode poses + Nibbles Replacer has been the game changer I've been waiting for.

Or to put it more succinctly, December 2022 through about April 2023 felt like a relearning/return to basics kind of creative period, which is essential, but also means I just don't really like a lot of what I did, lmao.

Then, shockingly (I'm not shocked at all), starting treatment for my anxiety and depression in the second half of this year suddenly made creating a lot easier and fun again! Crazy how that works.

Even bumping this little review up to 20 shots instead of 12, there are still pictures from the past few months that I had to cut as favorites. There was just no way I could condense the amount of fave shots I took from August to now in just 5 options.

I also owe quite a bit of this revival to modders for asking me if I wanted to take shots for them--Exploring more of a fashion photography approach to my shots I think did a lot to build on what I had learned earlier in the year and encouraged me to try something new. I don't want to tag anyone in this long-ass glorified diary entry, but if you invited me to take mod shots for you, just know that it really meant a lot. ♡

And that's where my head has been with a yearly review! Is filling out a little template with 12 pictures this serious? No, it definitely is not, lmao. But hey, overthinking shit is still something I'm working on. ✌️

[laughhardrunfastbekindsblog]

Having recently finished an (overly-lengthy) analysis of Tech's development and now working on one for Wrecker, I've been thinking a lot about each of the main characters' arcs. So here, y'all get a summary:

To start off with, it seems each of the titular characters' arcs (with the exception of Omega) revolved around answering one of the main themes of the show, a theme that affects all of the clones:

“We were born and raised to be soldiers of the Republic. It is our entire identity, culture, and purpose. So what do we do when the Republic is now called an Empire, the war we were born for is over, and we face the possibility of being replaced? What are we if we are not soldiers?”

The first question of “What do we do when the Republic is now called an Empire?” is answered quickly: Crosshair joins the Empire, the others don’t.

The second question – “What are we if we are not soldiers, can we be anything else?” – takes longer to answer, because even though Hunter, Echo, Tech, and Wrecker decide within one episode that they won’t be soldiers to the Empire, they continue acting as soldiers and functioning as a military unit (why wouldn’t they, it is literally all they know). Even building relationships with Omega and protecting/caring for her involves them taking an adolescent clone with no military training and teaching her how to be a soldier working with a squad. Whether they are soldiers for a cause, soldiers who have left a cause (deserters), or soldiers for hire (mercenaries), most members of Clone Force 99 take a long time to consider other roles, purposes, and identities beyond being a soldier.

- Crosshair: his arc is the most obvious as he goes from clinging so tightly to his identity as a soldier that he is willing to walk away from his family and throw in with the Empire, to eventually discarding the soldier life completely after the Empire abuses his loyalty, and ends retiring with his family on Pabu. His answer to the second question seems to be "I'm still figuring that out, but I know I don't need or want to be a soldier anymore; and more importantly I know who deserves my loyalty, and that's enough."

- Hunter: he feels he needs to remain a soldier/mercenary to protect his family from the Empire (and from blackmail), and he has a difficult time letting go of that role even as other options open up to him. It takes the loss of one of his brothers to convince Hunter to give up the soldier life “for good”… until he gets dragged back into it, but he stays fighting as a soldier only long enough to recover what he can of his family, ensure their safety, and peripherally help another brother (Echo) as needed. His answer to the question seems to be "People keep telling me there are more options than being a soldier, but there's never any time to really explore these options or let down my guard. Oh, look, here comes another disaster." It isn't until the end of the show, when he finally has a chance to breathe, that he says they, like the other clones, can finally be "Whatever we want."

- Echo: he deliberately chooses to stay in the fight and continues soldiering, but for a bigger cause he believes in and one that aligns with his ideals. His answer is essentially “I guess I could be something else, but I want to continue being a soldier. It's how I can best help ALL my brothers."

- Tech: he remains a soldier in order to help his family, but as he begins to see history, culture, traditions, and life existing well beyond the war he was born for, he is one of the first to openly express an interest in pursuing possibilities outside of the soldier expectations (stay on Pabu, help the community rebuild, spend time with Phee, etc.) His arc is cut short before these possibilities can come to full fruition, but he did have an arc in that he answered the question with “I am a soldier, AND I can be more.”

- Wrecker: he has no problem sticking with the soldier-like roles, though he also has no difficulty integrating into other communities and helping them out - so long as there is action involved. He'll stay in one place if that's what his family decides to do, though they don't officially decide to do it until Tech dies... And it's only thereafter, when Wrecker is left the last man standing to keep Hunter from going off the deep end, that Wrecker begins to not only advise Hunter, but also advise caution. His goals shift from action/thrill seeking and helping his family, to being more selective in order to help his family. His answer to the question is "Being a soldier was fun, but now I see and understand the risks of staying in the fight. I don't care if I'm a soldier or not, I'm open to new things, as long as I'm with my family and they are safe."

While Omega is the exception in that she doesn't necessarily answer the same questions her brothers have, but - like most coming-of-age stories - she still eventually has to answer the question of who/what she wants to be, so:

- Omega's arc takes her from being a clone with no military training (who doesn't even know what dirt is), raised by brothers who for most of their lives had no choice but to be soldiers... to a young woman who has been trained by the best, has the option of staying out of the fight, and chooses for herself to become a soldier.

[penvisions]

the melting point {chapter 18}

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Baker! Reader (exEMT! Reader)

Summary: Time moves and so does your world.

Word Count: 4.5k

Warnings: references to canon typical violence, gun violence, reference to previous injuries, recovery, physical therapy, therapy, anxiety, medical jargon, description of injuries (not detailed), mention of surgical scarring, reader has limited mobility, reader uses a walker, reader uses a wheelchair, reader uses a cane, panic, depression, anxiety, reader is self-conscious in her body, a lot of emotions, body modification, reader gets some, pet names, a lot of emotions! reader has described as having specific color hair and tattoos

A/N: it's not the best, but it's a good step toward the end of this lovely little series. happy frankie friday, y'all!

ao3 link || series masterlist || main masterlist || ko-fi

Frankie was pacing, the envelope opened, and the contents laid out.

Aggravated assault.

Child Services have been contacted.

Will was the first to be called, in order to get an attorney through the VA.

Pope was the second, because he had been witness to the incident in question.

A call interrupted the list of immediate people who needed to be reached out to. Child Services calling to confirm Frankie’s residence and let him know an officer would be conducting a home visit in the following days. Frankie’s mother, Isabella, had said she would stay the night beforehand, to ensure the house was in order and to talk to the officer on her son’s behalf before whatever appointment was set. And that she would be staying that night to help work through anything needing her help.

Benny was called third, because he had been there when Frankie had begun to deal with his anger issues and attended meetings with him where he spoke about it early in his recovery. To vouch that the man had never been violent outside of small outbursts and never in front of his child or in public.

Morgan was fourth, to question of she knew the man Pope had claimed frequented the bar across from Brass Knuckles.

It…it was a lot on top of an already overwhelming situation.

“Frankie?” You called as you tried to inch the feet of your walker as close to the threshold of the back door. The panel of the sliding door had been closed but the man wasn’t in any of the other places you had looked after waking from your slumber. It was the next day, a hectic one to be sure as more paperwork and things needed to be in order. His mother and daughter were upstairs, busy with the child’s few hours’ worth of homework to ensure she stayed on point for school when she returned after the winter break. The first half of the school year being done in the comfort of her own home, to help her handle the aftermath of what had happened.

That had been a conversation you hadn’t been a part of, something Frankie had admitted to you. The decision needing to be made while you had still been unconscious and in the hospital. Between his parents and his friends, trying their best to gauge the outcome of each option and what was best for Lex.

The clatter of glass falling and cracking was loud, spiking your heart in your chest. You called out for him again, worry dripping from you.

“I’m okay, querida! Just trying to fix this sun catcher and I accidently dropped it.”

“Is it okay?”

“…no.” His sheepish admission came from around the corner of the house.

“Fransisco!”

“It was an accident!” He appeared from where he had to have been messing with the charm hanging from a tree in the yard, bare feet hushing across the grass before they met the wooden stairs of the deck. He couldn’t hide the wide smile taking over his lips, delighting in the sight of you trying to hide your laughter.

“So…”

“Alright, alright, lemme get changed.”

“You didn’t even give me the chance to say anything yet.”

“That’s your ‘I have errands’ voice, sweet girl. Heard it enough times when we were trying to plan our first date.”

“Hey, I don’t wanna hear that. You essentially got me with that one date, so-“

“That’s not-“ His mind tried to supply him with other instances but it was the only one that was official.

“We hung out enough for you to fall hopelessly in love with me!”

“But not on official dates!” You giggled, feeling heat creep up your neck from your chest at the words.

“Then lemme take you out to one tomorrow, if you’re feeling up to it.” He wrapped an arm around your waist, hand splaying across your lower back.

“But…child services is coming tomorrow, we’ve got to focus on that…”

“We’ll both need to relax after that, I promise it’s okay.”

“Frankie…did,” You pulled back a little to gaze into the amber of his eyes lit up by the morning sun. “Did you really attack him?”

His forehead rested against yours, his eyes clenching shut and hiding them from your searching gaze.

“Yes. I did. Pope and I went down to the station to hear his statement and he was…he was saying all kinds of awful things about you and Lex and I just snapped.”

A hand to the back of his neck and your face pressed to his chest helped to calm him down. Shifting together, he helped you back into the house and into a new set of clothes to leave the house.

The shop was bustling, a line out the door and your dedicated employees working hard to fulfill each customer’s needs. Pride swelled up, a large smile pulling at your lips as you moved past everyone and toward the back. It had been easier to come in through the front door than deal with the two steps up into the back of the building. You could hear footsteps up above, signaling that Taylor was moving about.

He must be on break, running the shop for you while you recovered no doubt taking a lot out of him. It wasn’t his profession of choice but he knew enough to help out where it was needed. You really hadn’t wanted to shut down the shop for months on end, especially after the nearly two it had taken you to wake up and get clearance from the hospital to leave.

Business was booming, the city showing an outpouring of love and support for you in the wake of what had happened. You were grateful, even if it felt like you were doing something bad sneaking in to steal some supplies for tonight’s family dinner.

Alexia had wanted to decorate cupcakes, something she mentioned a few days ago as you both fell asleep in the middle of the day with a cartoon movie on the tv, her anti-anxiety medication and your pain management ones getting the better of you two as Frankie was out in the garage tuning up the truck.

Will and Benny had stopped by for lunch, the gym being run by the staff allowed for the two of them to run around town and organize the fight night events that had been delayed a bit because of the shooting. They were debating the pros and cons of hiring a food truck for the event or getting a caterer to set up a spread in the front of the gym.

“I can always just cook for you?” You suggested as you carefully shuffled up from your seat on the couch, wanting a cup of tea to take the next dose of medication. “That was you don’t lose those earning or have to budget for it in the first place.”

The brothers shared a look behind your back, unsure of how to react. You were never one to offer something if you didn’t feel like you could handle it. But cooking for an anticipated crowd of over a hundred people would have you on your feet for quite a while. And while you were moving around with a little more ease, you were still keeping your walker close by. Frankie insisting on a wheelchair for the store and longer trips from the house.

A clatter had them both on their feet in a heartbeat, moving toward the kitchen to see you straining to reach the kettle on the second shelf of a cabinet. You had one hand on the counter and the other was stretched up, causing the fabric of your shirt to ride up. The shining skin of the scars from your surgery caught their eyes and they quickly jumped in to help. Will’s front was warm against your back as he gently swatted your hand away to get the kettle for you. His arms came around as he lowered it to the counter. Gasping at the flare of desire from the feel of a strong body against you, you froze.

“You okay, mante? You didn’t hurt yourself did you?”

“N-no, everything’s fine.”

“Honey, you’re burning up,” Will placed a hand on the back of your neck, gauging your temperature as best he could. Your head hung between your shoulders, both palms flat on the counter’s surface. When he shifted to reach for the med kit, he brushed impossibly closer, and you let out a charged sound that tapered off into breathy sigh.

Everyone froze.

“Mante?”

“Just, drop it.” You were shuffling away, prying yourself from the small space between Will’s body and the counter.

“Honey, you know you can talk to us.”

“No, it’s embarrassing. Frankie would be…mortified if I talked to you.” You tried to fight the heat rising to your face, clothing too tight all of a sudden, the air in the kitchen stifling.

“He’s not touching you, is he?” Will asked softy, voice holding sincerity. He’s seen this type of rift open up between people and couples in recovery. He had multiple pamphlets and brochures for those who approached him asking for help. He was the sole source of information, of course he knew what was going on. But he mentally berated himself for not seeing the signs of it sooner.

“He wouldn’t like me talking about it…with you.”

“That doesn’t matter, do you need to talk about it?”

“I have- a little, with Morgan but…I don’t even know what’s going on.”

“He’s probably just worried about hurting you, Mante.”

“But he is, hurting me. I-I don’t even really care all that stuff right now, I’m too tired and sore all the time but…it would be nice to know he still wanted me like that.”

“Does he help you change?”

“Y-yeah, yes.”

“Does he help you bathe?”

“He asked me not to unless he’s in the house.”

“Sweetheart, he’s probably worried about pushing you. I mean, not to be too crass, but your hips are kinda important for sex.”

You huffed a laugh, panic and anxiety waning at the guy’s well-meaning intentions.

“Isabella and I haven’t either…since it happened.” Will confessed with an open demeaner, not wanting you to think it was just you or just Frankie. That it was a normal response to traumatic events, to reassure you. And of course, you would know but being so weighted down with everything he also knew how hard it was to think rationally about it all. “It’s normal, nothing it wrong with you, okay?”

The officer regarded you curiously. Eyes downturned to the ring on your left hand.

“Now, we have no mention of you on any legal paperwork regarding Mr. Morales. And your official address is listed as the place of your business, is that correct?”

“Yes, ma’am, that’s correct.”

“You were the recent victim in the shooting that occurred on….” The date of the last summer farmer’s market was rattled off. “Where you were the one to run to the aid of the child in question, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Now, can either of you tell me why Mr. Morales wasn’t within range to do so himself?”

“Excuse me?”

“Mr. Morales, please, let’s all keep calm here. It’s a simple question.”

“Does allowing his daughter to go off with one of his friends during an open market make him a bad father? Because that’s what your question seems to be getting at.”

“Ma’am, please. It’s a routine question.”

“I was yards away from her when the shooter decided to open fire in a public space.”

“And yet, you didn’t run to her aid.”

“I did, the second the first shot went off and the crowd began to panic, I was looking for her.”

“So you didn’t have eyes on her.” The officer made a note on the file open in her lap. You bristled at the uncaring demeanor, unable to hold your tongue as she talked at you and Frankie instead of with you.

“I would like to speak to the child in question.”

“That can wait a minute, excuse me.” You leveled her with a focused look, not willing to roll over and show your stomach to this woman who was supposed to be conducting an interview. But instead she was taking everything and twisting it to the narrative she was trying to depict in her notes. “Frankie had eyes on her. He always knows who she’s with, where they’re going, for how long and ensures he’s the one dropping off and picking up or it’s someone he trusts with his daughter. He is a good father. I don’t think the focus here should be whether or not he reacted fast enough to a shooter scenario but the fact that there was a shooter scenario that you are trying to twist in your favor.”

“I am merely asking routine questions, the shooting response is only one of the areas in which I am concerned. The other would be your sudden presence in this house. How it affects the child in question.”

“You’re not even using her name. Her name is Alexia. She is a very real, very traumatized child who doesn’t need anything else upsetting her. I get that you may not understand the dynamic Frankie has with his friends and how they care for his daughter as if she was their own. Or how I’m “affecting” her presence by being in her home that previously only contained her and her father. But you’re going to sit there and ask us questions and listen to what we have to say.”

“What is your relationship with the child?”

“I’m her-“

“She’s my fiancé, she intends to sign the guardianship papers to share legal responsibility with me.”

“And…is it because you think it’s too much to handle on your own?” The officer looked less tense, at least. Nodding her head along as she looked something over in her file. “It states here you never reached out for resources that are available to you. Can I ask why that is?”

“No, ma’am. It’s because she asked me to. We have a beautiful bond and she wanted to make it a little more tangible and it was a way for Alexia to feel included once the wedding rolls around.”

“And as for the resources, I served and did my time. I make enough money for us to live comfortably, and I have a good support system. I didn’t want to take away from those resources should there be a child in a worse off situation.”

“Okay, thank you.” She closed her file, looking up at the united front you and Frankie made on the couch across from her armchair. “The rest of my questions are for Alexia.”

“She’s upstairs with my mother at the moment, let me go fetch her.”

“That won’t be necessary, I’ll see myself up the stairs if that’s alright with you?”

A curt nod from Frankie was all he could manage, knowing that this wasn’t going well. It wasn’t going well at all.

Nearly an hour later, everyone was gathered around the kitchen table as the officer went over her notes for the visit.

“Based on the conclusion of this interview, I do not deem Mr. Morales a bad guardian nor someone who appears to have present day anger management issues. He had no prior history of assault and if everyone else we reach out to that is a part of this family’s circle corroborates the same narrative, then there will be no further investigation. Thank you for your time, have a lovely rest of your day.”

The snap of the thick folder in the officer’s hand startled you, head ducking and hands coming up to cover it. She at least had the decency to look apologetic for the action, not thinking of what the sound would do to you.

“I’m sorry, ma’am.” A nod paired with her words, and she was gone.

The rest of the day was spent talking to the attorney Will had found that was more than willing to take on the case. A court date had been established for the end of the following month.

No sooner than the door closed behind her and you all took a collective breath, was there another knock at the door. Three long strides led Frankie back to it, opening it up with a pinched expression. He was trying to remain calm, but he was shaken beyond belief. One small moment of instinctual protective anger and he had created this whole mess not sitting well with the man. But it wasn’t the officer returning, it was your nurse, picking you up for a scheduled physical therapy appointment.

“Hi, yes, of course. Lemme get her bag and she’s all set here in the living room.”

“Pastel! Can I go with you?”

“Oh, um, Lex, I’m not sure.” You looked to Frankie as she descended down the stairs, Isabella moving to slow her speedy approach as you pulled yourself up from your position on the couch with the walker. “You have to ask your father.”

“But you’re gonna be my Mama Pastel, you can say yes now!”

“…That’s technically true, but your father has final say, mija.”

“Yes, mi amor, you can. Papa needs to take care of some things, but it’ll be good for you to get out of the house.” It was the first time she had asked to leave since the shooting, surely a good step that she wanted to go somewhere, even if it was to the rehabilitation center with you for something so routine.

Three months.

Three months since your entire life was upended for the second time.

Frankie’s court date had last month, postponed to today. Not an official trial, due to the plaintiff being sentenced to a maximum facility. His case had been open and shut, no way of getting out of serving time. He had deliberately carried an automatic weapon into a public space and opened fire. Even if he hadn’t pleaded guilty in the hopes of garnering a deal, no one was siding with him or cutting him any slack. No lawyers had been willing to take him on as a client and he had denied a state-appointed one, knowing full well the consequences of his actions.

He had entered the courthouse a walking mess of anxiety and worry. A man concerned about the future he could provide for his daughter, for you, for his family. If he had been deemed an unsatisfactory guardian with notations of anger management issues, his job would be on the line. Tourism bringing so much to the city and the company wanted to aid Vets in any way they could. But would surely draw the line as such an accusation and paper trail.

He had emerged from the courthouse light on his feet with a grin on his face. Stopping at the shop to check on things for you, purchasing a bouquet for you and Lex on his way home.

Then had been Lex’s birthday, where she wished out loud as she blew her candles out that she wanted to go back to school. Frankie had a long conversation with her therapist, and they agreed she would return to school after the winter break. The first half of the school year done at her own pace but well enough at home to allow for her to seamlessly integrate back in.

Taylor had returned home with a promise to come out three times a year. The guys had one last night out with him along, having bonded with him over the course of his time here. Morgan helping to make sure they didn’t over indulge and that they all got home okay. And another night with everyone involved when Morgan had a night off of her own. Though Taylor wasn’t her focus, having gotten together with Santiago, she was sad to see him go along with everyone else. You missed him, his presence and calming demeanor. The way he had brought home to you in such small ways you hadn’t known you had missed until they were right in front of you. But you had left for a reason and he had a life and a kid to get back to.

Will and Isabella were official and he has asked her to move in with him, prompting Benny to search for a place of his own. He was working on convincing the new assistant he hired to let him take her out, but she admitted to you one day when she came into the shop that she liked how hard he was trying to get her attention. You both laughed, lamenting over the eager attitude he possessed. But ultimately you had turned serious and said he was a good man who would do right by her. That she should give him the chance to show her how much he cared.

You had gone back to working in the shop, though you needed a cane to help you get around. It was a part of who you were now, spells of numbness and healed injuries aching long after recovery. But you were stronger than you had been, able to stand on your feet and do what you loved best. The shop was to be featured in a second article, praising your bravery and return to work, the same writer from before presenting you with a ‘best local bakery’ award from the open poll the magazine holds each year.

But now….now you were running late.

Cursing under your breath, you carefully moved down the stairs of the apartment and down to the ground floor. The cats had been moved to the house forever ago, but there was a stray that came around the back door and you wanted to put a better dish out for them to have food and water. It had run from you, but you hoped it would come back for the fresh food and new bowl.

Locking up, you loaded up into the truck and carefully took off across downtown.

The twinkling lights strewn up were beautiful, reflecting off the large windows and glass bottles of the bar and you leaned over to press your lips to his neck over his collar. Though he didn’t turn to face you, in deep conversation with the people across from you, his arm moved around you and pulled you close, hand caressing your hip over the fabric of your dress.

An engagement party, curtesy of Pope’s determined mind and the help of the magazine editor. She had been delighted and more than happy to help cover the costs for the celebration, she had pulled you into a hug when you arrived arm in arm with Frankie. Everyone posted around the bar, the one where you and Frankie had your first official date, and cheered as you entered. You had been sure it was closed, worried that Frankie had mixed up his days for the reservation, but he had said Santigo had made it for him.

It had been an amazing surprise, tears of affection threatening to spill over your lash line at all of your friends and favorite people in one place. To celebrate your and Frankie’s love.

The food was amazing, the full menu available to order and you made sure to get a serving of crispy brussel sprouts that were too spicy for Frankie. He had smiled fondly at you as you inhaled them, taking delight in how the simplest of things could bring a smile to your face. Just as you popped the last one in your mouth, he was pulling you out of the booth and up on your feet. When you reached for your cane, he gently took both your hands in his and guided you to the middle of the floor, where people were dancing.

“Fransisco, if I recall correctly you said you don’t dance.” You teased, hands going around his neck as his went around your waist to settle on the small of your back.

“I don’t, sweet girl. But for you, I’m willing to try.” He pressed a kiss to the tip of your nose, eyes taking in the way your long curls framed your face. How the auburn of them was complimented by the dark green almost black of your dress, the ink on your skin crystalline from your glittery lotion Lex had coerced you into buying for the guest bathroom.

“You’re perfect just the way you are, mi amor.” You allowed him to gently sway your bodies back and forth, small words of affection flowing between you as the music lulled into a soft medley of strings and horns.

“I’m so glad Pope pestered you everyday, what I wouldn’t give to have seen him get shot down the first time.” Frankie chuckled, chest vibrating close and warming you up from the inside out.

“He took it in stride, I think. He likes a challenge.”

Off to the side the man in question was seated at a booth, his tie loosening and his attention on his best friend and love. His heart full and his mind working in overtime to try and figure out how to top this for Frankie’s bachelor party. His attention called back to the present as a small figure bounded up to him with a fresh new fizzy drink.

“Tio Santi! They had strawberry syrup!”

“That’s amazing, mi corazon. Muy delicioso!” He reached out to lift her up, settling her in his lap as she caught sight of her dad and soon to be mom dancing together. Completely caught up in each other in the best way. She smiled, happy.

“Are you excited to go back to school, mi corazon?” Santiago bounced her on his leg, the layers of her dress floating in the air with his motions.

“Yes, but I’m also nervous.”

“It’s okay to be nervous.”

“My friends will all have new friends, I’m afraid they won’t want to talk to me anymore.”

“Nonsense, everyone is gonna crowd around you and be so excited to see you again.”

“I hope so.”

“I promise you, it’ll all be okay. You’ve come so far, mi amor.”

“Pastel too! And Papa!”

“Them too.” Santi looked toward where you were still softly swaying with Frankie, slow music playing over the speakers. The backdrop of the flowers and warm string lights strewn over the ceiling lighting up your features enough to see the soft smiles you shared with each other. Frankie’s hands were around your waist, helping to support you while you own were wrapped around his neck. Whispering sweet nothings to each other as the night continued on.

previous chapter || next chapter

dividers: by the lovely @/saradika-graphics

taglist: @tanzthompson @clevergirl74 @sullyosully @bitchwitch1981 @anoverwhelmingdin @jessthebaker @peppermintfury @for-a-longlongtime @peppermintfury @tuquoquebrute @readingiskeepingmegoing @christinamadsen @heareball @soft-persephone @vivian-pascal

[kfcdoubledown]

I bought an 8bitdo Retro mechanical keyboard!

(Picture not mine, source from PC World.)

I wanted a plastic keyboard, I really do not actually use the knob on a Keychron board I have, it still comes in a scooped keycap profile, and it has a companion numpad with a calculator built in. Win/win/win!

This keyboard comes in four designs (not colorways, full designs) themed after the NES, the Famicom, the IBM Model M, and the Commodore 64 keyboard. The NES keycaps have multiple different fonts on them, the Famicom keycaps have Japanese sublegends, the Model M keycaps have a mock stepped Caps Lock key, and the Commodore 64 keycaps are an apparently off-the-shelf SA set from one of many, many, many keycap companies floating around China (I recognize their font and profile shape from Akko ASA keycaps and numerous other scooped profile keycap sets you can have cheaply off of Aliexpress and Amazon. Do check those out, genuinely, you'd struggle to find a bad scooped keycap set these days and I love scooped profiles over Cherry and OEM.)

The build quality of the actual keyboard itself is good, feels like a very similar plastic blend to what 8bitdo uses for its controllers like their Pro 2. Stabilizers are smooth and don't rattle, the legends on the keycaps are reasonably sharp and in NES-appropriate font, the keycaps themselves are MDA profile (I would prefer SA, but beggars can't be choosers) and are somewhat thin but still good quality, dye-sublimated PBT, no warp on the spacebar. Arrow keys are a separate color from the two tones that make up the main keycap set and made to resemble a d-pad. The keyboard itself is somewhat light, but my perception is skewed from using a metal keyboard for a long time, and this is after all a plastic shell, top-mounted keyboard. Even so I think I'll probably end up cracking open the keyboard and putting in some liquid silicone as noise-dampening and additional weight.

Two knobs control both wireless functionality and computer software volume, the wireless knob is heavy with only three options while the volume one is light with many individual steps. The volume knob can be somewhat unresponsive on individual steps. Bluetooth is very responsive and wants to pair with my computer the moment it's flicked over to, and 2.4ghz wireless comes with a receiver that slots into the back of the keyboard magnetically for storage. A power light on the right of the keyboard mimics the NES power light and pulses while charging, is steady while using wireless or when fully charged and connected over USB.

The underlying PCB is south-facing hotswap sockets (who the hell cares their orientation, this only matters for lighting, which this keyboard doesn't have). By default the keyboard comes with Kailh box whites, a very light clicky switch. I yanked them out immediately and put Boba U4T tactiles in because they're the king of all switches. They thunk nicely in this chassis, the Kailh whites weren't slouches either, they did pick a good stock choice for switch without resorting to Gateron or Outemu blue horseshit.

The NES version of the keyboard came with a two-button macro pad that hooks over TRRS cable (you recognize it as a 3.5mm jack or headphone cable) to one of four ports on the top-right of the keyboard. These are essentially just two keyboard switches with giant keycaps on a separate board and the buttons are populated by Gateron greens. The switches are nowhere close to heavy enough to approximate a button, and I gave them Kailh box navies. Still not enough, but better.

These keyboards also come wiiiiiith a companion number pad!

(Picture credit the 8bitdo store.)

While I don't actually have this one in hand just yet I do have it on order. It looks like it'll be about the same build quality as the main keyboard, and it caught my eye for four reasons and ended up making me purchase the full set as a result:

The numpad has a built in calculator.

Same aesthetic choices as the main keyboard (NES, Famicom, IBM Model M, Commodore 64)

Magnetically attaches to the right side of the keyboard to transform it into a more era appropriate full-size.

Far and away the cheapest wireless mechanical numpad with calculator on the market, sitting at $45.

An important note though is that the Famicom and NES keypads don't attach to their respective keyboards, simply because their respective keyboards don't have magnets inside the sides of the chassis to allow for it. I have some cheap button magnets laying around that I'll use for this purpose and probably see if they're strong enough to be placed on the inside of the board and allow for the numpad to connect to it. I also imagine there's going to be a repop or v2 of this keyboard in the future that has this done already, seeing as the Commodore 64 version of the board and I believe the Model M version of the board already have that.

I'll reblog this and give some actual definitive thoughts on the numpad once it's in my hands.

As far as the board itself is concerned, I quite like it. The keycap profile is agreeable, the nostalgia pandering targeted me with laser precision, the board sounds quite good acoustically (especially for being a top-mount keyboard!) and it has a volume knob I'll see if I can reprogram some day. While I normally hate TKL layouts, I'm putting up with it because it will eventually be a fullsize with the numpad. Worth $150 total? Don't know, can't answer that for you, it's worth it to me but I very specifically wanted a keyboard themed after an old Nintendo console with no setup required and no chasing down or commissioning GMK keycap sets. I also wanted a calculator numpad.

[unitezine]

Frequently Asked Questions

What's a Zine?

A fanzine, or zine- short for magazine- is essentially what it says on the tin! It's a fan-made magazine based around whatever topic!

This zine is based around Nicktoons! Specifically, Nicktoons Unite, which reaches its 20th anniversary near the end of 2025! The theme is crossovers- looking

What Nicktoons can I use?

If it's a Nicktoon, you're in! Of course, there are a few restrictions- ex. if it's a show based on a pre-existing media, you must be creating your pieces based on the show specifically.

If your idea includes a show that isn't necessarily a Nicktoon but has aired on Nickelodeon, feel free to ask about it!! As a mod team, we have a few select shows that we'd allow in that aren't EXACTLY Nicktoons, but can be seen as one somehow. Take a second and ask!!

Is there a Theme?

As I mentioned before, the theme for this zine is Crossovers! Nicktoons Unite is a crossover at heart, and we want to highlight that!!

Want to make a piece featuring the classic Jimmy Neutron and Fairly Odd Parents crossover? Or maybe one between Doug and Robot and Monster? Perhaps Star Trek: Prodigy and Hey Arnold! Whatever you want to bring to the table, we'd love to hear it!

The layout of the zine is planned to be reminiscent of a late 90s/early 2000s Nickelodeon Magazine! So, magazine games, articles, ads- it's all fair game and we'd love to see people get creative!

What Can I Make?

Most zines are based around fanfic and art, and yes, that is the main mediums we are planning on working with here!

But! We'd also love to see anything else you guys can come up with! Magazine games, articles, cosplays, anything! There's a whole section in the sign-ups specifically for this, and you can throw in any ideas you want!!

What's Required?

Artists will have a variety of different sizes for their pieces, depending on what they sign up for/what they end up choosing (this may or may not change depending on how many artists we end up with!)

Two Page illustrations will be 5,100x3,300

Singular Page Illustrations will be 2,550x3,300

Comics will be one to two pages, with page size at 2,550×3,300 !!

There will be a few other options that will have specifics brought up later, with others being case by case!

Fanfic writers have a minimum of around 1.5k words! We have a tentative maximum of around 5k, so it doesn't get too long, but it'd be alright if it goes a little over, or even a little under that 1.5k. :)

Are there any Restrictions?

This is a SFW Zine. Nickelodeon is a children's TV channel and we want this to be a family friendly zine!!

No non-canon romances please! We'd like to keep it open to a lot of fans and shipping can be a touchy subject to some!!

No OCs, please. We are planning on adding them to the credits page, so they will get their spotlight, I promise!

If you plan on joining, please be ready to reply to check-ins and get your pieces completed on time! - Please, if you do get behind as well, let us know!

Pieces cannot be shared outside of the discord until the zine has been posted and the mods have given the go-ahead! - There may be times where contributors are allowed to post wips publicly in order to advertise and the like! Listen to the mods on that front!

If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to ask!! Thank you all so much and I'm very excited to get this thing started!!

[artist-issues]

To Re-Write Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Here's a peek into my storytelling process, and what I think the third movie of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy should've looked like. You know me. Everything starts with the Main Point. (I'm not going to talk about what's bad about Rise of Skywalker in this post, it'll be long enough already.)

The Main Point: "Where there is love, there is hope."

Essentially, the main message of Star Wars is "Faith Triumphs Over Fear." Our main message supports that, because it's hard to keep the faith when you're alone, or feel alone. But when you have friends, or loved ones to fight for, keeping the faith is easier, and gives you something other than fear to focus on.

So. I'm going to structure this like "Where a Character Was at the end of TLJ --> Where They Need to Be by the End of EP 9."

Most of these characters don't need any more development. They learned a core lesson at the end of TLJ: now they just need to hang on and put it into practice no matter what plot points test them. Stick the landing. We already had their "Proposal, Argument—" now we need their "—Conclusion."

The only exception to this is Kylo Ren. He still needs development. You'll see:

Rey

It's Not About Who I Am; It's About Doing the Good I Can Do --> Tempted to Make a Selfish-Insecure-Identity-Based Decision; Chooses to Do the Self-Sacrificial, Good Thing Instead.

This means Rey needs to have a goal she's trying to accomplish, but this time there's not really a "and then I'll know who I am" element in it for her. Like in TLJ, she was going to find Luke for the greater good, but it was also, on a personal level, because:

But this time, after TLJ, she needs to start out on a mission that doesn't have anything in it for her besides the greater good... to show that she's grown in the right direction, she's not thinking so much about who she is and what she needs, anymore.

Then, on that mission, during that adventure, that character growth can be tested by having the opportunity to get sidetracked by something that could be self-validating.

I wouldn't make it be something about her parents again—we've exhausted that topic by the end of TLJ. But I'd make it something that has to do with being "The Last Jedi, the Heiress to the Light Side of the Force." I'd set the movie up with people telling her that, eventually, Rey will grow to be the legend Luke Skywalker was.

Maybe in the time between TLJ and this movie, the Resistance have run enough rescue missions of refugees or people oppressed by the First Order to pick up a bunch of kids or very young recruits. And those kids have heard of or seen Rey in action by now. Maybe Broom Boy is even one of them. And there are scenes of kids being in awe of Rey, or one of them even says, "after you beat the First Order, will you train me, Master Jedi?" or Maz herself makes a sage comment like, "Look how the Light has grown in you. The Galaxy needed that light...and the Force answered with you, like Luke Skywalker before you." Or during a fun opening-rescue mission, there's a scene where all of the people Rey is helping look up to her and explain who she is to one another in front of her.

Scenes providing her with an image of herself, as the future trainer of the Jedi Order, "when all this is over." Something that she could be tempted to find her identity in.

But then during the course of her mission, she has the opportunity to do one of these things

Gain Amazing New Jedi Knowledge

Kill Kylo Ren and Gain Renown as a Hero

Sacrifice Some Measure of the Power She Has Gained in the Force

And if she chooses the thing that will make her seem more like the Heroic Heiress of the Heroes, that would derail her from her mission and show that she's still thinking about herself—but if she chooses to just do the self-sacrificial, kind thing in the moment, it would help her mission. Yet, it should make her future as someone of fame and importance in the Force uncertain—so that option is also self-sacrificial. Thats the choice she has to make.

And when she makes the right one, we see, not that she got to Be Somebody and vanquished her fear of "dying a nobody" from the first time we met her—

—but that she's not even afraid of that anymore. It's okay to "die a nobody," if everyone else is better off. Because that was a self-focused fear, anyway, and it no longer has power over her. (For lots of reasons—one of which being she now has friends.) Character growth. Star Wars.

Finn

Good Can Win if We Focus on Saving Loved Ones Instead of Destroying Hated Ones --> Tempted to Get Revenge, But Sacrifices Revenge to Save Someone Else he Loves

This means Finn is focused on getting something/keeping something that will provide aid/protect the people he has come to love. Most of his screen-time can be focused on this, to build on showing how far he's come. He should have multiple opportunities to run away, whether it be from First Order troops attacking a Resistance base, or from the scene of a conflict when a rescue mission goes sideways—but instead he keeps staying in dangerous situations to help loved ones.

My favorite scenario to place him in, for this, is in a covert-ops mission where he's infiltrating First Order stormtroopers. He already knows the system, but we've only seen him exploit that knowledge when it's to save his own skin/cause hurt to the people who abused him in the First Order. He doesn't like to be around First Order troops because he hates them/he's afraid of them. But in Episode 9, after TLJ, I'd be showing Finn, choosing to stay where he's surrounded (even if unknown) by people who could uncover his true identity and kill him at any moment—and doing it because it protects the Resistance, in some way. I'd also broaden that focus—he's specifically doing it because it helps the larger cause, not necessarily because his actions will directly save anyone he loves, like Rose or Poe or Rey.

But—at some point in this movie, someone he's attached to dies. I think the most obvious choice is Rose, but she was the one who taught him about avoiding hate and saving loved ones. Revenge for Rose would be far from what Rose would want, so it wouldn't tempt him. So instead I think it should be either a new character that he spends most of the first act of Ep. 9 bonding with believably—or it should be Poe.

Poe, or a stormtrooper he really likes who has just come around to leaving the First Order when she is brutally killed. (I do think Poe, or someone we've seen him "grow up" with throughout the first two films, should be the one to die because otherwise it wouldn't be as tempting for Finn to get revenge, at this point in his arc.)

Then Finn pursues revenge, near the climax of the film. But at the last second, a-la-Luke-tossing-away-his-lightsaber, Finn gives up the opportunity for that revenge and does something else. Something useful, that saves Resistance lives, but causes the person he was about to exact revenge upon to escape.

That's how we see that Finn has come full circle—not only is he willing to stay when things get frightening and hard, and not only is he willing to fight for people he loves...but he's willing to act out of that love, not hate, because of what he's learned.

Poe

A Leader Sacrifices for the Greater Good of Others, Not For His Own Pride  --> Tempted to Make a Hero's Stand; Gives Someone Else the Opportunity Instead

This one is tricky because it's hard to make a scenario where a leader makes a choice that is exciting to watch...when the choice is "don't make a heroic last stand."

It's tricky. It's not impossible. (Rian Johnson did not see anyone up for failure. The TROS storytellers just refused to problem-solve when it got hard. Thats all I'll say about TROS.)

Basically, this means that Poe needs to start the film out at the head of the Resistance. He's still going on missions, but his role in those missions is coordination. One team gets to be the distraction—another team saves the day. Then when both teams are done with their missions, and it looks like they'll give their lives for those missions because there's no way out, in drops Poe. He's been coordinating everything; he's just the getaway car driver.

Then there's fun banter scenes where he reports back to Leia, she's critiquing some of the messy parts of the plan but ultimately proud of him, they bounce ideas off each other, and it's clear it still rubs him the wrong way not to be on the frontlines, but he's enjoying parts of the new challenge of leadership anyway. And they're closer than ever.

Eventually, however, Leia is captured, just before the climax of the film. Like Finn, Poe drops everything the Resistance has been working toward and is intent on saving her, and he's taking a very active role in that. But then, due to her own reminder, he chooses to abandon rescuing her at a pivotal moment to do something that will ultimately turn the tide in the Resistance's favor during the climax. He lets Leia make the sacrifice, and he himself is making the sacrifice of getting to save her and have her back, for the greater good. It's a harder path, but it's one she was preparing him for this whole trilogy.

All of this is if Poe doesn't die to further Finn's arc.

Kylo Ren

It's Better to Destroy the Past in Conquest Than Face My Failures --> I Was Wrong

Biggest one.

Kylo Ren is on the Dark Side because he believed that he was destined to be a monster, nobody would keep loving him if that was his destiny, and leaning into that destiny would help him escape the hurt that nobody-loving-the-"destined"-him caused.

I'm not going to elaborate on that, it's as plain as the nose on his face if you watch the movies and listen to what his family members say about him and what he says about himself. That's why he embraced the Dark Side.

But Rey, Chewie, and Leia are still alive, and all three of them can claim to know the "real him," and try to convince him that he was wrong—he was never destined to be a monster, and they do love and believe in the real him, no matter what he's done.

However, he isn't likely to believe them. He's least likely to believe Leia—she sent him away before he'd done anything wrong, and he has now done many things wrong that are singularly hurtful to her. He's second-least likely to believe Chewie, because he killed Chewie's best friend and Chewie shot him (and also, it's not compelling for the audience for Kylo Ren's mind to be changed by a character that doesn't speak English or emote with human facial expressions.)

He's most likely to believe Rey. Because 1) she did not kill him even after he chose to be a monster all over again, and she could've done what Luke almost did and prevented more monstrous deeds by killing him while he was unconscious. And 2) on a deeper level, she never knew "Ben Solo." She only ever knew the monster, and yet she's still choosing to tell him that he's not stuck as a monster.

So. The movie should start with Kylo Ren as Supreme Leader, doing his utmost to gain power, crush the Resistance, and wipe out any reference to the New Republic or the Jedi. But the key difference is that he's not singlemindedly focused on Rey and Leia and killing them anymore. That's not because he's grown from his "I want every gun to fire on my Uncle" obsessive flaw. It's because he finished TLJ by being closer to regretting his decisions than ever before. In his subconscious, he's afraid of encountering Rey or Leia directly ever again, because now he knows how weak his own resolve is, at this point. He'd rather avoid a direct fight unless he knows he can withstand "the pull to the Light." (He's not admitting any of that to himself.)

So he starts the movie on a mission. But now we enter our bad guys.

Hux.

Hux has only ever existed in these movies to be a counterpoint to Kylo Ren. Where Kylo Ren is explosive, emotionally led, and tangles his personal interests up in the interests of the First Order—Hux is calculating, a strategist, and dedicated to the First Order's cause.

He's at his most passionate when giving speeches about the First Order's might, or when that might is being mocked, or when it is being misused. And he has always hated Kylo Ren. In the script for the Force Awakens, in Hux's introductory scene, it literally says "Hux hates Kylo Ren." That's what he's there for. To be everything to the First Order that Kylo Ren is missing—dedication to the cause, and finding his own sense of pride in that cause—and to hate Kylo Ren. So. When Kylo Ren gets to be Supreme Leader, and his personal issues are jeopardizing the whole First Order? Hux is going to put a stop to that. He doesn't have the Force. But he has control over his strategic mind, and he knows that Kylo Ren's weakness is his emotions.

So, Hux orchestrates some kind of scenario where they learn Rey's location, or next-known location. She's going after some important tech or artifact that could turn the tide of the war. Hux purposefully pokes at Kylo Ren's ego, and maybe faintly suggests that Ren is avoiding a confrontation with the girl who beat him twice and "murdered the Supreme Leader," until Kylo Ren flies off determined to get to the artifact or tech Rey is after first—and prove he's willing to kill her in the process. To himself, and the First Order.

Then Hux orchestrates an Order-66-style assassination attempt on the Supreme Leader with a group of loyal troopers. It should be in a starship flight over the planet Rey is on—Kylo Ren wouldn't believably be overcome in any other scenario. And he takes out almost all of his would-be traitor assassins during the attempt, anyway. But his ship does crash, and Hux takes the mantle of Supreme Leader, and our other heroes spend most of their time dealing with this rabid strategist and his war plans.

Meanwhile, Rey finds Kylo Ren who is barely alive and has to do something to save him. That something should, like I said above, cost Rey something. She should lose a particular Force-ability, or be permanently disabled in some (easily-hidden) way as a result of healing him—or she should lose an artifact, or lose something that would've boosted her identity as Savior of the Galaxy down the road.

But I wouldn't let Kylo Ren figure any of that out right away. For tension, I'd have him remain unconscious for the entirety of Rey saving his life and sacrificing something to do it. Then I'd have her need to hide him, then leave the scene, because she's still on a mission, and Hux has sent the Knights of Ren on the same mission. Then later, Kylo Ren can come to, catch up with her, and they can come to an agreement on looking for the thing they came for together, fighting the Knights of Ren along the way—even if they both know that this alliance will only last until they find the thing they each came to this planet for.

Kylo Ren has closed himself off to any Force bond with Rey. He's stubbornly insisting that he's using her—she's a means to an end. She's quietly certain that he'll come around, but she's not pushing it this time. She'll do what she has to do when they reach the end of their mission, but she's not worried about it. And she hasn't told him, or is hiding from him, the fact that she saved his life again. Because she knows, now, that he's not ready to hear any pleading or reasoning about coming to the Light. He has to get there on his own, and she can't force him (get it?)

They have lots of tense conversation and interesting team-up moments and almost-friendship, almost-betraying each other moments the whole time. Like they're in the Hunger Games in an alliance. Until eventually, the First Order's forces are converging on them (knowing both are alive) and Leia arrives—apparently to rescue Rey—and Kylo Ren, determined by this time not to let Rey go in any sense again, especially not to let her get to the end of her mission first, tries to board the Millenium Falcon and stop her. But it was a trap. Leia allows Rey to take a small craft to the end of her mission, while she and Kylo Ren face off. Leia won't let her son get in Rey's way if he's determined to stay on the Dark Side—and she certainly won't let him get the tech/artifact that might restore him to being the Supreme Leader.

(This whole standoff-stalemate-Leia trapping Kylo Ren in a ship with herself can be what Poe initially wants to save her from, too.)

Basically, at this point, whipping out her knowledge of Rey saving his life and pointing out that Rey believes in Ben Solo even after never having met him, Leia changes Kylo Ren's mind about all of it. If not for Rey and what Rey has shown him with her patience and steady faith, Leia wouldn't have been able to do this. But it works, and Kylo Ren leaves the Millenium Falcon as Ben Solo, finally, and he's determined to help Rey, who is racing toward the artifact/tech/final battle.

This is the bare bones. I'd add in or decide between a lot more elements—what is Hux's plan to wipe out the Resistance, what is the thing Rey/Kylo Ren are after, how does infiltrating Stormtroopers help the Resisrance in stopping whatever Hux is doing, does Finn have the Force, what're Chewie and the droids doing during all this, does Leia die at any point during her attempt to change Kylo Ren back, and is the final battle between Rey/Ben and the Knights of Ren? Or just one Knight of Ren who became the leader when they decided to turn on Kylo Ren and work with Hux? Or is the final battle against Hux and his forces?

I'd answer all those questions and try to do it in a way that interconnects Finn, Poe, Rey, and Rose's storylines. But this is just the bare bones of it all.

The conclusion is the tricky part. I don't think killing Kylo Ren works, even if he's redeemed. Not only because he's the last of the Skywalker/Solos. But because killing him makes Leia, Han, and Luke's hope for him feel kind of hollow. Especially if Leia dies to bring it about, which Han did already. "Our little Ben got to come back to the good side...for the last ten minutes of his life! Yaaay we always knew he could do it" NOPE. That's silly. And also, it's bad for his arc. He's a character that has been running from his bad decisions, thinking that stacking more and more on top of them will satisfy him. So what he needs is not a heroic-death-shaped back door out of the consequences of those bad decisions. He needs to face them.

And I also think, depriving Rey, a character who always wanted to stop being alone, of an organic if difficult relationship with someone who understands her, is a dissatisfying conclusion for the main character.

It would be best to have him live. And then he needs some difficult, but ultimately hopeful road ahead to mending his mistakes. Obviously the whole galaxy would be baying for his blood as justice, if they knew that the former Supreme Leader lived. So he probably needs to assume a new identity, just to avoid being executed for his crimes. (I don't think any Resistance member who knew Leia would be on board with executing Kylo Ren, once the war is over and they have to make that decision outside the heat of battle.)

Then he needs to do something that helps repair the wrongs he's done...but it should be something that costs him, personally. If he's come to value Rey as the only person left in the galaxy he cares about, I'd actually end the movie separating him from Rey. Not forever—because that would be as unsatisfying as killing him—but for the foreseeable future. Then I'd send him on a pilgrimage of some sort that will undo some things he's done. Obviously he can't bring back the lives he's taken. But, maybe whatever cataclysmic artifact or thing they were after did some damage across the galaxy during the climax—and Ben Solo can figure out how to reverse that damage, or repair the thing, but it'll be a long, hard road.

I might send Chewbacca with him. But that's it. It's basically atonement-exile, in disguise. In the meantime, Rey wouldn't be alone because she'd be with Finn and Poe (if he lives) and all her Resistance friends. And they'd start finding homes for the refugees from the war. I wouldn't directly end on Rey starting a Jedi school—not by herself. Only if she's doing it with Finn, or with Finn and Leia if Leia lives. Because again, we're going for "it ain't all about you and who you are, Rey."

That's what I'd do. Feel free to use this as a template or a springboard for your own ideas, (and hey send them to me if you do) because basically anything would be better than what we got with TROS. But this is just what I would do, bare framework.

[lostmagic]

no ok the more I’m reading through the hotd tag the more pissed off I’m getting bc what do you mean the blood and cheese scene was underwhelming???????? I understand that it was extremely different from the source material and that people had high expectations for the screen adaptation, but the way most of y’all are complaining about it has me sick to be honest.

The main complaint I’m seeing (and willing to argue against bc there are some other gripes that I refuse to entertain) is that it was “less impactful” and that it “doesn’t do Helaena’s character justice”. I’m seeing people say that the horror of the situation was lost without Helaena’s pleading and offering herself in their place to save her children, and that her descent into madness will make less sense now without her Sophie’s Choice backfiring on her and being forced to live with the guilt of sentencing one son to die only for the other to be killed instead. I think this response of pleading and begging and offering oneself in place of a loved one (especially a child) is easy to understand and I believe we all would like to think that it would be our response in an unimaginable situation such as the one Helaena is faced with, but when it comes down to the actual trauma response, no one knows until they’re in it.

Some background on trauma responses: when faced with trauma, a person’s response tends to fall into one of four categories. Most people associate the term with the more commonly known responses of fight or flight, but the other two lesser known responses are freeze or fawn. Freeze is rather self explanatory with the person essentially going into shock and failing to react at all. Fawn is probably the least commonly known response with the person essentially resorting to people pleasing and appeasing in order to avoid further harm.

Where book!Helaena’s response was fight, show!Helaena’s response was fawn (and arguably freeze with what appeared to be disassociation). That doesn’t make her wrong or a bad mother as some of you are suggesting. She was experiencing an extremely traumatic event with a knife to her throat and two sleeping children only feet away from her with her only options being to surrender her son or risk losing them both as well as her own life. Trauma responses aren’t something we control, and blaming her for hers is greatly misunderstanding the nuance of it all. Showing that there ARE multiple ways to respond in traumatic situations made sense with this version of Helaena’s character with all of her other reactions we have seen throughout the show so far.

I get that people are also mad that Alicent wasn’t there for the situation and especially that she was instead fucking Cole, but I honestly think that that is a different horror of its own. Book!Alicent shared in Helaena’s trauma of being forced to choose between her children and is helpless, but show!Alicent doesn’t even know that there is danger. She doesn’t know that their security was breeched (partially due to the fact that she is fucking the HEAD of security at the moment) and she doesn’t know that her daughter has just had to make the impossible decision to surrender her son to save her daughter, knowing that her daughter is “of lesser value” and that SHE will be blamed for the heir to the throne being assassinated in front of her while she was powerless to stop it. Alicent will feel the guilt of not knowing that her daughter needed help and she will feel the guilt that while it was happening she was “sinning against the gods” with a man she knows she shouldn’t be. Holier than thou Alicent was caught in the worst possible way and I doubt she will forgive herself.

I can understand being annoyed when an adaptation strays from the source material, but being upset that this particular event was “watered down” or “sanitized for television” has me questioning why you wanted to see a pure translation of the scene in the first place. The shows have diverted from the books for better and for worse in the past and while I understand and agree with book purists on some storylines or scenes being changed, this is one I firmly believe was justified.